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RTE to scrap 200 jobs and cut salaries of top presenters

RTE has revealed plans to scrap 200 jobs and the cut the salaries of their top presenters by 15%, in a bid to reduce costs.

In the hopes of saving €60 million over the next three years, a number of modifications will be made in the station, including the closure of their digital radio stations; RTE 2X, RTE Pulse. RTE Gold, RTE jr Radio and RTE Radio 1 Extra.

While RTE’s Lyric FM is safe for now, production will be moved to Dublin and Cork, as their Limerick studio is downsizing.

Further changes in the station include the sale of the RTE Guide and the closure of RTE Aertel. As well as this, the RTE National Symphony Orchestra is being moved to the National Concert Hall.

Commenting on the changes, RTE Director General Dee Forbes said, “The challenges in front of us are real. But RTÉ does have a plan, which we are confident can address many of the challenges we face and bring Ireland’s national public broadcaster to stability.

Dee Forbes Pic: VIP Ireland

However, Government needs to act to ensure there is a future for public service media in Ireland. I am clear about what role RTÉ should play in Irish life, but I am also clear that we cannot do it unless Government fixes the TV Licence system.

“We shouldn’t be under any illusions; we are in a fight – a fight to sustain a viable public media in Ireland.”

She continued, “We remain in discussions with Government. We are doing all we can to return RTÉ to a stable financial position, but we will not be able to reinvent public media for future generations, nor fulfil our remit, without immediate reform of the TV Licence system.”

According to a statement from RTE, Ireland has one of the highest evasion rates in Europe when it comes to the tv license fee and this, RTE says, is “costing jobs. Not just in RTE, but right across Ireland’s audio-visual and creative sectors.”

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